Planning approvals at a ten-year high, say house builders

The number of planning permissions granted for new homes reached a ten-year high in the 12 months to September, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

The HBF and Glenigan Housing Pipeline report for the third quarter of 2016 has revealed that permissions for 76,242 homes were granted in England between July and September, with the total number for the 12 months to September reaching 289,011, the highest since the survey began in 2006.

There were 82,557 approvals across Great Britain in the third quarter, up 10% on the previous months and a 22% increase year-on-year, according to the report.

However, the number of actual sites these permissions are on dropped, indicating local authorities are granting permission for an increasing number of large strategic sites as opposed to the mix of size and type of site needed to deliver more homes, the HBF said.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF, said: “The house building industry is committed to building more homes but can only do so if it has the land on which to build them.

“It is encouraging that so many headline planning permissions are being granted but we simply have to find a way to unblock the system and reduce the time it takes to get a permission to the stage where builders can actually start building.

“Construction work shouldn’t be held up by council officers getting round to approving designs for landscaping, playgrounds or ensuring developers are liaising with community artists. These could be agreed whilst infrastructure work gets started. Our housing crisis is too serious a threat to our future for everyone not to be pulling in the same direction.

“House builders are keen to increase output further but all parties need to work together if we are going to solve our housing shortage.”

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